7/14/2013
Off the southeastern coast
of the Delmarva Peninsula, Assateague Island looks like it broke off in a thin slice.
Most of the island belongs to Maryland (We’ll go there tomorrow), but a small
segment is in Virginia, as well as the bordering (and populated) island of
Chincoteague.
Assateague is known for
its stunted wild horses that were made famous by a children’s book Misty of Chincoteague and a subsequent
1960s movie. We had never heard of it, but I forced Laura to watch the movie
with me before we went. [I wasn’t really paying
attention. I’m not much for horse movies.] It did give us a little
context on the people of Chincoteague and their relationship to the wild horses
next door.
The town itself is a
little rundown – 50 years have passed since Misty,
so I’m sure tourism is not what it was. We were more interested in the wildlife
preserve in Assateague, now connected by a bridge. What was great is that the
GPS didn’t recognize the bridge, so I took immature pleasure in watching the
little cartoon car drive off the road and into the water. Don’t try this at
home.
We did see some of the
horses, but they were far away. They really are quite small. I was disappointed
we couldn’t get a little closer for the kids. I still hadn’t quite followed
through on the horse thing.
[He woke me up (I had the indecency to take a nap right when he needed me to navigate) so I would take his picture. The scamp.]
[He woke me up (I had the indecency to take a nap right when he needed me to navigate) so I would take his picture. The scamp.]
At the other side of the
island was where we had the real fun – our first sight of the Atlantic Ocean.
The kids played on the beach for a couple of hours. Kathleen’s first encounter
with a wave didn’t go well. It knocked her right over. She was not happy.
She had more fun
collecting shells.
The boys had adventures.
Veronica sunbathed.
Everyone had fun.
I pointed out to sea and
asked Daniel if he knew what was out there. He said, “I don’t know.” I told him
that if he swam and swam and swam and swam for a long time eventually he would
reach the place Daddy was born, far, far away. I told him I would take him
there some day.
“Ok, Daddy,” he said.
“Let’s build a sandcastle now.”
So we did.
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